A variety of devices and techniques have been employed to secure packaged items. For example, packaged items may be secured by molded foam or inflated cushions, but are often secured to a backing sheet with one or more securing devices. Previous examples of such securing devices include the reinforcing band strip of U.S. Pat. No. 3,811,565 to Tancredi (1974), and the secure packaging system of U.S. Pat. No. 6,575,302 to Robley, Jr. (2003), both of which are incorporated by reference. Holding members for securing items to walls and other hard surfaces have been described in European patent application no. 0115692 by Delahunty (1987), also incorporated by reference.
Previous securing devices have often included coated flexible wires, or ‘twist-ties’. For example, in the case of packaged toy 10 of FIG. 1, a toy FIG. 12 is secured to a backing sheet 14 in a display box 16. FIG. 12 is secured to backing sheet 14 with multiple twist-ties 18. The ends of the twist-ties protrude from the rear surface of backing sheet 14, as shown in FIG. 2. In order to remove the toy figure from the packaging, the backing sheet must be removed from display box 16, but then each of the twist-ties must be untwisted, and pulled through the backing in order to free the figure. This process can be both frustrating and time-consuming, particularly for small children. Additionally, the twist-ties require time and attention to apply during packaging.
The packaged items including at least one tie-down of the present disclosure may be inexpensively produced, may be quickly and easily applied during packaging, and can be removed easily, even by children.